Axa is doing well. Managing Director Thomas Buberl presented fiscal year 2018 as the year of action and decision.
Management has worked to build a “new Axa”, focused on key markets (health, welfare, corporate damages), closer to its customers and less exposed to financial risk, the latter objective having been formulated 10 years ago after the 2008 crisis. Thomas Buberl also worked to reassure shareholders about the good integration of XL. “Axa XL gives us a new commercial dynamic,” he said.
The entity’s revenue grew by 10% last year, supported by the coverage of new needs (particularly in terms of cyber and climate risks). Renewal rates in 2019 are “very positive”. The new Axa is also an operating result generated 80% by the activities of damage, health and welfare, uncorrelated financial markets. A choice that also benefits the balance sheet of the company.
In conclusion, the CEO estimated that the group was on track to meet the 2020 targets, set in 2016. With 6.6 billion available operating cash flows in 2018, Axa should even reach the top of the range from 28 to 32 billion cumulated between 2015 and 2020.Two interventions followed that of Thomas Buberl: that of Guillaume Borie, director of innovation, and that of Celine Soubranne, director of corporate responsibility.
The first presented Axa Next, a newly created structure that oversees all entities related to innovative new offerings. The ambition is, beyond the simple cover in case of disaster, to offer new services to policyholders in the areas of health, digital platforms, mobility or the segment of SMEs. The second mentioned the patronage actions (including 10 million for Notre-Dame after the fire) and the fight against poverty, green investments …
